Urban farming

Nicky Gavron: Recent reports from a former UK Chief Scientific Advisor stated that half of UK farmland needs to be converted to woodland and nature in order to tackle the climate emergency, and that 20% of this loss of farmland could be compensated for with increased investment in vertical farming. In the context of Brexit, are there opportunities for supporting these innovative farming practices in London?

The Mayor: As highlighted in my London Food Strategy and my London Environment Strategy, taking an innovative approach to food growing provides social, economic, health and environmental benefits. This is crucial if we are to strengthen London’s green infrastructure, and there are many opportunities to explore emerging practices.
The draft London Plan highlights green roofs and walls as potential solutions for small-scale food growing and provides support for boroughs to identify opportunities for food growing on vacant sites, as meanwhile uses or in new developments. My food policy team is exploring the role that vertical food growing can play as they implement the London Food Strategy.
In the context of Brexit, work on strengthening London’s food resilience includes consideration of the role that food growing in London’s peri-urban fringe can play in helping Londoners continue to eat healthily. The strong protection for London’s Green Belt intheLondon Plan provides the underpinning for protecting and enhancing positive uses of the Green Belt, including farming, into the future.

TfL's Failure to publish 2019 Quarterly Bus Safety and Bus Safety Dashboard Data

Caroline Pidgeon: TfL has failed to publish any quarterly bus safety data and any London bus safety dashboard since Q1 2019. What is the reason for this delay and when will the rest of 2019's bus safety data be published?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is committed to publishing timely, accurate data relating to its bus safety performance. In 2019 there were some delays to this, for which TfL apologises. The delays were due to changes being made to systems that are designed to upgrade the production of reports and improve their timeliness and accuracy in the long term.
The latest data for Q2 and Q3 2019 will be published by the end of January.

Welfare advice in schools evaluation

Onkar Sahota: What progress has been made evaluating the provision of welfare advice in schools, and what plans are there to expand the scheme?

The Mayor: I will be receiving the final evaluation report for my pilot project to tackle child poverty through schools at the end of February. It will include a detailed breakdown of the total amount of additional income raised for low-income families by the welfare rights advisors, as well as valuable insight into how to develop the project further.
The interim evaluation findings showed that families who received advice in the first few weeks of the project gained an average of £7,000 additional annual income. Due to this early success, I recently authorised a small extension to the project which will take place from now until the end of March. This extension will allow advisers to continue working on outstanding cases, whilst also giving more time to involve delivery partners in discussions around developing future options.

New Year’s Eve fireworks

Leonie Cooper: Has the Mayor investigated following Shanghai’s example of using drones for some or all of the display to reduce the environmental impact and the distress caused to animals?

The Mayor: London’s large-scale, spectacular New Year’s celebrations are seen across the UK and around the world, promoting our city to millions of people.
I have asked my team to look for new innovations when planning for the 2020/21 New Year’s Eve event.
We have previously considered the inclusion of drone displays, but as Shanghai’s display showed, there are significant limitations with currently available drones. They are sensitive to weather conditions, producing a much greater risk of cancellation, alongside higher costs. These limitations could be why Shanghai’s drone display was not live but pre-recorded several days ahead of New Year’s Eve. Never the less the team continue to look for options to improve and develop the display.
In terms of the environmental impact of the fireworks, this is something we takeseriously and always try to minimise. The impact is short lived, localised and minimal, with the emissions from the fireworks display roughly equivalent to 0.00006 % of London's annual NOx emissions, but this is of course something we keep in close review.

Traffic Signals for Pedestrian Safety

Navin Shah: The parents of Saint Jérôme’s Bilingual Primary School have raised their concerns of road safety near the school premises. In response, TfL, who own and operate all traffic signals in London has doubled the amount of green time for pedestrians during the afternoon peak period and implemented these changes last month. Can the TfL also consider doing the same for the morning peak period so students can safely cross the road to begin school? Furthermore, should the whole road junction not be re-designed/ re-developed to take in to account the school use for which the junction was not originally designed?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) will arrange a site meeting with the London Borough of Harrow and representatives from the school to discuss the school’s concerns about the junction and how it operates in the morning. If it is possible, TfL will make further adjustments to the signal timings to reduce crossing times and crowding for people walking. TfL is also working with the borough – which is the Highway Authority here - to explore potential design changes at this junction to make it safer for all road users.

Borough Food Action Plan Delivery

Fiona Twycross: How are you supporting local authorities to deliver their Food Action Delivery plans?

The Mayor: I have supported ten local authorities to develop Food Poverty Action Plans, enabling a more strategic approach to tackling food insecurity at a local level. I have funded five of these councils to deliver projects to improve Good Food Retail this year and increase access to healthy, affordable food.
I have also supported the food charity Sustain to publish the report ‘Good Food Retail: Six London boroughs taking action’ and coordinate a Good Food Retail webinar on 22nd January. These resources provide other boroughs with the background of the project and some of the key learnings gathered from this year’s cohort, supporting them to apply for the next round of funding which will open this month.
Sharing intelligence and best practice is critical to the implementation of these projects and as part of the funding, a number of boroughs involved have presented to other local authorities and partners at quarterly Boroughs Food Group meetings at City Hall.

No Recourse to Public Funds Potential Increase

Fiona Twycross: We know that those with no recourse to public funds are at high risk of serious problems such as homelessness, being the victim of a coercive or controlling relationship and modern slavery. Do you share my concerns that leaving the European Union risks increasing the number of people living in the UK without recourse to public funds in the future?

The Mayor: Yes, I echo your concern. Once the UK leaves the EU and the deadline to access the EU Settlement Scheme passes, there is a significant risk of European Londoners, who haven’t accessed the Scheme, losing their rights overnight. Even a small proportion of the more than 1 million European Londoners losing their rights will be devastating. I am also concerned that many more will be wrongly granted pre-settled status limiting their entitlement to public funds.
Those with no recourse to public funds are prevented from accessing social housing and welfare support that they might desperately need and therefore face an increased risk of experiencing destitution, exploitation and coercion.
I have committed record investment in specialist services for victims of domestic abuse and rough sleepers with no recourse to public funds and continue to invest in immigration and social welfare advice to help all Londoners to access their rights and entitlements.

Advice to EU Citizens if the UK leaves the EU on the 31<sup>st</sup> January (2)

Fiona Twycross: A number of EU Londoners will be concerned that if they leave the UK before applying for either settled status or pre-settled status, they may not be allowed to re-enter the UK. This is not the case, but it is a concern that many EU Londoners are reported to have. How are you working to make sure EU Londoners feel confident to travel outside of the UK after January 2020 without concern that this may impact their ability to apply for settled status?

The Mayor: London is home to over 1 million EU citizens. As Mayor, I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure they and their families can secure their right to stay in the UK after Brexit.
Over the past year I have provided free guidance and advice to EU Londoners on the EU Settlement Scheme, creating an EU Londoners Hub containing important information about the steps EU Londoners need to take to protect their rights.
To ensure the message is heard by as many EU Londoners as possible, we have organised a number of free public events in partnership with lawyers so Europeans can receive advice, including in relation to travelling outside the UK.
We will continue to reach out to European Londoners with reassurance and advice in 2020. As well as continuing to use social media and emails to reach EU Londoners, we have just awarded an additional £60,000 worth of micro-grants to twelve community organisations providing direct support and advice to the most vulnerable groups throughout 2020.

Advice to EU Citizens if the UK leaves the EU on the 31<sup>st</sup> January (1)

Fiona Twycross: Will you be advising EU Londoners about the European Temporary Leave to Remain scheme as part of your engagement with EU citizens?

The Mayor: The European Temporary Leave to Remain (Euro TLR) will only apply if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, it aims to cover the period between the end of free movement and the beginning of the UK’s new immigration system from January 2021.
I have spent the last 12 months providing free guidance and advice to EU Londoners on the EU Settlement Scheme through my EU Londoners hub. If the UK leaves without a deal and the Euro TLR becomes relevant to European Londoners, I will add information about this to my EU Londoners Hub and will continue to provide free advice and support through my £110,000 community microgrant programme.

Kitchen Social Scheme (1)

Fiona Twycross: How many children have been provided with food or other activities through the Kitchen Social scheme? Please state numbers by year.

The Mayor: The Mayor’s Fund for London’s Kitchen Social programme gives children a safe place to go during the holidays where they can socialise and receive a free, healthy meal. Since its launch in 2017 it has also helped support the emotional wellbeing of young people, address health inequalities, and improve social integration.
A breakdown of the number of children engaged and meals provided is listed below:
Year
Children supported
Meals provided
2017
2,702
7,438
2018
9,988
50,491
2019
8,434
39,863
Total
21,124
97,792

Kitchen Social Scheme (2)

Fiona Twycross: How many projects are now supported by the scheme? What number of projects will be supported by Kitchen Social in the current year?

The Mayor: In 2019, Kitchen Social supported 94 community organisations to deliver holiday provision to their young people. Of these, the Mayor’s Fund for London has existing commitments in place to support 68 projects in 2020. It is actively seeking new funding opportunities to be able to continue to support those community organisations whose three-year funding agreements have come to an end.

Free travel for carers (1)

Jennette Arnold: How many people with disabilities were accompanied by a carer on the TfL network last year?

The Mayor: Transport for London does not record the number of people with disabilities who were accompanied by a carer on the TfL network.

Free travel for carers (2)

Jennette Arnold: What estimate have you made of the average saving in travel costs that would be made by a person with disabilities if their carer were able to travel with them for free on the TfL network?

The Mayor: TfL does not hold data to enable me to provide an estimate. The likely financial savings for individuals would depend on several assumptions which Transport for London would need to develop were I re-elected.

Advice to EU Citizens if the UK leaves the EU on the 31<sup>st</sup> January (4)

Fiona Twycross: The legal advice sector has been hit hard by cuts to legal aid. What assessment have you or the Government made about the future increased demand for legal advice from those with insecure immigration status as a result of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union? Specifically, will individuals be able to afford this advice and in your view, is the legal advice sector prepared for a growth in demand for this service?

The Mayor: Earlier this month I released new research that showed an estimated 397,000 Londoners have insecure immigration status. This research also warned about the risk of European Londoners becoming undocumented after the UK leaves the EU.
I am very concerned that the government is not doing enough to properly fund outreach, support and advice services to meet this unprecedented need. I have called on the government to reverse cuts to legal aid which have decimated the legal advice sector and to properly invest in services providing advice on the EU Settlement Scheme.
Whilst we wait for the government to act to support those most vulnerable, I am doing everything I can. I have commissioned research to provide a strategic evaluation of social welfare provision in London, including immigration advice. In addition, last year I committed £370,000 to support London’s immigration advice sector, funded community organisations to provide advice through my £110,000 EU Londoners microgrant scheme and continue to invest in specialist advice services for victims of domestic violence and rough sleepers with immigration needs.

Advice to EU Citizens if the UK leaves the EU on the 31<sup>st</sup> January (3)

Fiona Twycross: How will you ensure that EU citizens continue to be provided with legal advice to help them apply for settled and pre-settled status throughout 2020?

The Mayor: London is home to over 1 million EU citizens. These Londoners belong here, and as Mayor I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that they and their families can stay in the UK after Brexit.
Since 2019, City Hall has provided free support on the EU Settlement Scheme to hundreds of thousands of European Londoners through our EU Londoners Hub and our public advice and guidance events held in partnership with pro-bono lawyers. The Hub alone has received 300,000 unique visitors since we launched it in 2019.
We will continue this work in 2020. We continue to promote our hub and have recently awarded an additional £60,000 worth of micro-grants to twelve community organisations that will provide direct support and advice to the most vulnerable European Londoners throughout 2020. We are also investing additional funding to provide independent immigration advice for non-UK nationals sleeping rough in London.

EU Settlement Scheme Numbers

Navin Shah: In late November 2019, you called the EU settlement scheme a failure because large numbers of EU nationals in London have failed to register. How do you plan to approach this issue with the newly elected government?

The Mayor: I am calling on the government to invest significant funding in outreach, advice and support to prevent thousands of EU Londoners from losing their rights overnight after the deadline to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme.
At City Hall we are doing all that we can to reach out to European Londoners with reassurance and support and have just awarded an additional £60,000 worth of micro-grants to twelve community organisations that will provide direct advice to the most vulnerable European Londoners throughout 2020.
However, further action is required from the government. They have already failed the Windrush generation, have priced out more than 100,000 young people from claiming their citizenship and, worryingly, are on the verge of failing EU citizens who live here too.
I have written to the Home Secretary to ask her to set out urgently how the Government intends to ensure the remaining hundreds of thousands of Londoners will apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, and whether the 31 December 2020 application deadline will be extended.